AI will help us create better conditions for users, and ultimately, that is the best use of any technology. FEATURE bikes in terms of real-time users and locations," says Ken. Mapping out a strategy The team focused their efforts on districts with comprehensive cycling networks including Tai Po, Ma On Shan and Sha Tin. "Essentially we committed to only building bike stations in areas that have cycling infrastructure or in new development areas. Because of road conditions, we agreed to limit our services and avoid Hong Kong Island and Kowloon in the beginning, as at times the road conditions can be really dangerous,”says Ken. This strategy has allowed Locobike to expand with government co-operation. In 2022, they finally created the first smart bicycle route in Hong Kong Island, with an app to accompany and an IoT (Internet of things) system to manage the route. In 2023, they partnered with the Transport Department to launch the first shared electric mobility trial in the New Territories. The company is now moving towards deployment of electric scooters and electric-assist bicycles. Robust hardware meets super software Locobike also improved the useability of their app, created patrols to monitor the condition and location of bikes and to tackle issues such as blocking up streets. As the project progressed, AI became essential, especially as Ken has a background in data mining and management. The team set about collecting more bike data to help with urban planning, moving from 2,000 bikes to more than 10,000 bikes in 13 districts with the help of AI. The company has patented the world's first AI dockless micro-mobility management system. “The system helps us plan collection, maintenance, and repair. AI uses data from patrols and usage, if a bike is not being used for a few days, it means there may be a problem, or it might be in a bad place for pickup. This data helps us determine why users like certain places better than others for pickup." In many ways the inspiration for Locobike came from HKUST, and not only because it sparked the original idea. "At HKUST I loved the campus and the atmosphere, but I also learned how to combine hardware and software, the education I received in the CPEG (computer science and electrical engineering joint degree program) that made the birth of Locobike possible. CPEG provided me with a well-rounded understanding of both software and hardware, which are fundamental to the development of IoT. I would say all because of HKUST CPEG, I unlocked the Hong Kong first Locobike in my home,”says Ken. The next step for Locobike is expanding its corporate network, having started working extensively with Shell which is keen to develop micro-mobility concepts. In Chengdu, they are working together with an international luxury resort brand to provide customized E-bike services to guests. Recently, they established a joint micromobility loT research center at the HKUST Shenzhen-Hong Kong Collaborative Innovation Research Institute in Futian. That is just the beginning. Locobike is now setting its sights worldwide, expanding to four tourist resorts and parks, one university campus in Mainland China and one industrial campus in Taiwan. For Locobike, AI is a way to optimize their work on road conditions, safety, user systems, and to run its solar energy-based wireless charging stations. Locobike has developed a global first green energy micro-mobility network powered by solar and wireless charging.“AI will help us create better conditions for users, and ultimately, that is the best use of any technology,”says Ken. Bike business becomes tour de force Hong Kong can seem dominated by cars and buses, but for many New Territories residents, biking is a widely used mode of transportation. Former eBay engineer Ken Ching (2007 BEng Computer Engineering, 2011 MSc IT) founded Locobike in 2017 to address this reality. Having grown up with bicycles from a young age, he started looking at the feasibility of bike-sharing in Hong Kong. "We strongly believe in the shared bike model, I have a personal interest in biking because at the time I was studying at HKUST as a part-time master's student, but was working at Science Park in Tai Po. The pain point was I could ride to HKUST, but I couldn't ride back home after classes because it was late at night. There was nowhere to leave or pick up bikes, so I thought that the share market had its place," says Ken. Life often comes full circle – Now based in Science Park, Locobike took center stage in the Hong Kong market by leveraging the use of big data and AI and partnering closely with government departments. It has gone from a company that was trying to understand the market to a major player operating a machine-learning based dockless shared-bike management platform, and MaaS (Mobility as a service) solutions for 600,000 registered users. "When we started there were several operators, and the market was fairly chaotic. We had bi-weekly meetings with the Transport Department to set it all up. So we signed agreements with the government as the first operator to implement transport department systems and monitor the HKUST Alumni 8 9 We have developed a global first green energy micro-mobility network powered by solar and wireless charging.
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